The Parish Annual
Meeting was held on Sunday, January 16, 2005 . At that time the
parish considered the passage of the proposed amendment to the
bylaws as well as the proposed slate of Vestry candidates that
had been previously presented, in the event that the amendment
was not put into effect.

The amendment was not passed, and the following individuals were
elected to the Vestry: Warden (for a two-year term): Beth McLean
; Vestry persons (each for a three -year term): Eugene Darconte,
Nick Dowen, Sheila Swigert and John Watson.

The following is a copy of the Warden’s message, which
was delivered at the annual meeting:

“2004 was a year filled with challenges and surprises
- but was also a time when we as a parish drew closer together.

We began the year in the planning stages of a LongRange Capital
Campaign and members of the Vestry, led by the campaign facilitator, LesleyShannon,
devoted many hours of discussion to formulate the necessary steps
towards its implementation.

However, during the course of the year we did have some financial
setbacks that caused a deficit in our Operating Budget, necessitating
a cutback in hours for our Sexton and Parish Secretary. We faced
our biggest challenge in October of 2004 with the resignation
of our Rector, and in turn our Long Range Planning efforts were
tabled in order to concentrate our efforts on finding supply
priests to continue our Sunday services, and to find an Interim
Pastor, and ultimately, a new Rector for Christ Church. It was
also a year when we lost several long-time parishioners: EileenMurray, AnnaParese, AnnLouderback and MarthaBendix -
these wonderful ladies will be missed.

However, as we look back, 2004 was also a year when we grew
stronger. It was the year when ChristChurch was
granted landmark status, thereby providing us with a way to secure
additional grant funding for the necessary improvements to our
parish buildings and grounds. It was a year when we received
a $60,000 grant for our Youth Programs, and most recently, a
$2500 grant for our Serenade Concert Series.

In 2004 the majority of the work was completed on our organ
renovation, and thanks to the generous donations of parishioners
and parish organizations we were able to install newer and more
efficient lighting in the Guild Room.

The important work of the Finance Committee, led by the indefatigable RichardSigman,
and the Plant & Equipment Committee, under the direction
of Susan Fowler, continued through
the year. The Vestry met many times during the latter part of
the year in response to our need to find an Interim Pastor, and
to form a Search Committee to find a new Rector.

We maintained a regular schedule of Sunday services with
wonderful supply priests: Mother Polly Kasey, Father Rand Frew,
and of course, Mother Rhoda Treherne-Thomas, whose spiritual
guidance brought us through Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. Their
efforts were complimented and strengthened by the continued hard
work of our Verger, Paul Smith, our Organist and Choirmaster,
Tom Sarff and our Altar Guild Directress, Shirley Elfers; and
let us not forget the daily petitions of Victor Stanwick as he
did the Morning Office each day of the week, and Victor and Willie
Black, Jr. coordinating the Second Sunday Healing Services in
the Chapel. Thanks are also due to Father John Johnson of St.
John’s Church, Father Buddy Stallings of Ascension Church,
and Father Michael Delaney of St. Andrew’s Church, who
so graciously gave of their time and energies to visit parishioners
in the hospital and conduct special services during the week
as was necessary.

The Sunday School continued to function under the Direction
of Sheila Hewitt, Christine Szczepanik and Connie Black and we
were delighted by the Advent Play and welcomed the Magi to the
Manger this year on Epiphany.

Our yearly fund raising and fellowship events continued as
scheduled: The Chinese Auction on October, co-chaired by Alleida
Mitchell and Richard Zayzay; the St. Nick’s Fair under
the watchful eye of its chairperson, Nick Lettiere; and our successful
Holly Ball directed once again by co-chairpersons Beth McLean
and Trevor Mills.

The year ahead will also be filled with challenges and hard
work - but there are many positive opportunities for growth and
change as well. Yesterday, members of the Vestry had avery
positive meeting with a potential candidate to fill the Interim
Pastor position and are hoping to finalize the details within
the next week or so. However, I am pleased to tell you that Fr.
John Covington, the former rector of St. Alban’s Church,
will be our supply priest for the month of February. In addition
to the Sunday morning service schedule, he will also be with
us on Ash Wednesday.

We have received the names of several individuals who have
expressed an interest in being part of the Search Committee for
a new Rector, and Willie Black, Jr. has been named to chair this
committee. The final list of members will be determined within
the next week or so and the committee will soon get underway
with the important work that lies ahead.

This year marks the 100th Anniversary of our church building
and a Gala May Ham Dinner has been scheduled for May 14, 2005.
Bishop Sisk and Bishop Taylor have both expressed an interest
in joining us for the festivities that evening.

Our love of God, and our love for Christ Church and
the many worthwhile and important committees, programs and activities
has brought us closer together this past year. Our church will continue
to thrive and grow and we will one day be able to continue with our Long Range Plans
and fulfill the many dreams that we have for our future."

Around
the Parish Nancy Reiersen-Scromo

Although
this is the February issue of The Tower Chimes it’s
the first opportunity of 2005 to wish all of our readers a Happy
New Year. Since we didn’t have a column in January there
is much news to report.

Advent and Epiphany at Christ Church were quite special this
past season thanks to the hard work of Sheila Hewitt, Christine Szczepanik, Connie Black and
the members of the Sunday School. It was a learning experience
for many of us when the Advent play, “The Twelve Days of
Christmas” was presented during one of our December Sunday
services, and it was truly more informative and enjoyable than
just learning the words to the twelve different verses of this
popular holiday song. In the most delightful fashion, members of
the Sunday School taught us the religious significance of each
verse - from one partridge to twelve drummers drumming!

The procession of the Magi to the Manager on Epiphany evening
was just as wonderful and the costumes were superb. And of course,
let’s not forget the wonderful fellowship that followed in
the Guild Room after the service thanks to the culinary efforts
of Nick and Nancy Lettiere and their
hot dogs and chili Frito boats

And speaking of the holiday season, let us not forget to mention
how lovely the Church looked this Christmas thanks to the extra
efforts of David and Daniel Wood (the
poinsettias get lovelier every year), and Shirley Elfers and
the members of the Altar Guild. Thanks to you all for enriching
the beauty of our worship for the holidays.

Have you heard the good news about Valerie Quinlan?
This outstanding lady who has worked so hard to bring beautiful
music to Christ Church and the Staten Island community through
the Serenade Concert Series, has been selected as one
of the recipients of the Staten Island Council of Churches award
for outstanding service to the community. Valerie, and selected
honorees from other Staten Island parishes, will be recognized
at the Council’s Annual Awards Dinner on February 2 nd at
the Old Bermuda Inn.

Congratulations to Kristin Reiersen for
winning top honors in the National Opera Association competition
last month, which was held in New York City. In addition to receiving
this most prestigious honor, she also was awarded a respectable
monetary award as well. Bravo, Diva!

The Wedding Belles of Christ Church will be marching down the
aisle in April. Congratulations and best wishes to the following
happy couples who will be joined in wedded bliss in front of our
lovely altar: Gytha Bellaby and Eugene Darconte on
April 1st; Tara Mazzucco and Robert Smock on
April 9th; and Abbie Boody and Brian Shawn on
April 23rd.

It’s grand to be an organist - and even more so if you’re Richard
Maren. In addition to a rather full day as office
manager for the law firm of Ronald J. Mazzucco, Esq., and
a full Sunday schedule as organist and choirmaster for St.
Paul ’s Episcopal Church here on Staten Island, Richard
is also the Grand Organist for the Masonic Order of New Jersey.
And in his “spare” time he has also found a few
moments to pen one or two original compositions.

Our Rector Emeritus, Fr. John Walsted,
continues his marvelous iconography and currently is completing
an icon for the Virginia Episcopal Theological Seminary of the
resurrection and the raising of Adam and Eve; and for St. James
Episcopal Church in Dover Plains, New York, he’s completing
an altar piece of the crucifixion flanked by St. Anne and St. James.
It’s being done in the style of a 13th Century northern
Italian icon. When the work is closed, the annunciation is pictured.

Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery to Margaret Harris.
This busy lady, who spends numerous hours coordinating our Sunday
morning coffee hours, helping out at the Richmond Food Pantry and
preparing and serving lunches once a month at Trinity Church on
Saturday mornings has been a bit under the weather lately. Get
well soon, dear lady!

Condolences to Karen and Paul Smith on
the passing of Karen’s father, John Cooper;
and to Connie Ricciardi on the passing
of her mother, Margaret Larsen.

And in closing, we offer a very heartfelt and special “thank
you” to Mother Rhoda Treherne-Thomas,
whose last Sunday as supply priest for our parish was on January
23. Her spiritual guidance nurtured and enlightened us through Thanksgiving,
Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. However, we will soon be seeing another
familiar face when Father John Covington,
former rector of St. Alban’s Church here on Staten Island,
comes to Christ Church as our supply priest for the month of February.

Vestry
Notes Nick Dowen

The
regularly scheduled meeting of the Christ Church Vestry took place
on Monday, January 12, 2005 . In the absence of a rector, the meeting
was chaired by the Churchwardens, Nicholas Lettiere and Nancy Reiersen-Scromo.

Phyllis Bath has resigned as Treasurer and Richard Sigman will
serve as Acting Treasurer until a replacement can be found. In
presenting the Treasurer’s Report, Richard Sigman noted that
pledge, plate and investment income all did well in 2004. There
were savings

in heating expenses due to the mild winter. He also noted that
the Finance Committee may recommend investing 75 percent in the
bond market and 25 percent in the stock market.

Warden Nicholas Lettiere expressed satisfaction at thank-you
notes received from several charitable organizations who were recipients
of outreach allocations from Christ Church. These included the
Episcopal Feeding Ministry, Global Medical Relief Fund, Alzheimer’s
Foundation of Staten Island, On Your Mark and The Children’s
Aid Society, and Goodhue Children’s Center.

The Diocese has advised us that there are currently no candidates
available for the Interim Pastor position. Supply priests at Sunday
services will be the Rev. Rhoda Treherne-Thomas, the Rev. Polly
Kasey, and the Rev. John Covington. The Search Committee to find
a new rector for Christ Church will become active after the Parish
Annual meeting on January 16.

It was announced that Valerie Quinlan will be among the honorees
at the Annual Awards Dinner of the Staten Island Council of Churches,
to be held at the Old Bermuda Inn on Wednesday, February 2 at 6:30
p.m.

Anne Devlin will be Christ Church ’s representative at
the Staten Island Community Days Planning Meeting for this annual
event that takes place this year in April.

The celebration of the centennial of the consecration of the
present Christ Church New Brighton will take place at the May Ham
Dinner on Saturday, May 14, 2005.

Mark your 2005 calendars! February 6 is Diversity Sunday at Christ
Church. The Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper will be held on February
8; February 9 is Ash Wednesday.

Serendipity
Notes Colin Reed

Nancy
and Annie Beveridge, Carol Shea and Helen Martin helped to raise
almost $1,000 for Christ Church at a fair hosted by the Noble Maritime
Collection and organized by the Stationery Movement of Serendipity during
the holiday season. During the weekend hundreds of visitors, in
a steady stream throughout Friday evening, and all day Saturday
and Sunday, purchased stationery, chutney, five dozen brownies,
wines, books and other new stuff. Far from being a charitable chore,
both our workers and buyers had fun, and many cases of the seafood
contributed by parishioners sold, resulted in deliveries to the
Richmond Senior Services run by Beverly Neuhaus.

Of all the parties held during the great season that has just
passed, surely the traditional one given by Marlene Elia for fifteen
members of Serendipity, the most ever in the history of Christ
Church, was the most hilarious and joyfully memorable. Her melon
and prosciuto, chicken, fish, pasta and salad and her kamikaze
cream puffs all helped us to demonstrate that during this difficult
period in the life of our church we can enjoy being together in
love and laughter. Trouble was that even with two Brits present
the open fire went out. As one member tried to revive it, she addressed
Trevor Mills, who was a very good sport to allow us to quote her
classic line, “Come on Trevor, blow on the embers, you’ve
got a fiery mouth and a lot of hot air.”

Did you know that Dorothy Rapp regularly leaves the monthly meetings
of Serendipity as quickly as she can in order to meet the Staten
Island Advance’s evening deadline for news
stories of local organizations. Without fanfare she does our church
a great service in keeping our name and our activities constantly
in the public eye.

Both Bishops Sisk and Taylor have accepted our invitation to
join us for our 100th birthday party on 14 May, 2005, and the
Archbishop of Canterbury has promised to wish us a Happy Birthday
in writing. It’s not too early for all parishioners and friends
to reserve the date for this joyous occasion.

In the last issue of the Tower Chimes a typographical
error which spoke of “anger cake” instead of angel
cake was overlooked. There have been many requests for a recipe
for anger cake and we are glad to supply one:

Al la Julia Childs, before adding each ingredient take a sip
of Wicked Ale

Mix all ingredients and bake for an hour in loaf pan made from
depression
glass.

Women
of
Christ ChurchMartha Keucher

In
December, the Women of Christ Church celebrated the Christmas season
with a lunch and the gathering of gifts for the women and children
of Safe Horizons. The offering was given to Eden II. For us it
was the time for giving, which we felt was most appropriate.

In January we were snug and warm at home. In hopes of an early
spring, we will gather at the church following our usual schedule
on Thursday, February 10th (the day after Ash Wednesday.) As you
can see, Easter will be very early this year.

So we ask that all Christ Church women take note that on Thursday,
February 10th the day will begin at 11:00 a.m. with a Eucharist
and Service of Healing in the Chapel, followed by a business meeting
in the Guild Room at 11:30 and lunch at 12 Noon. Don’t forget
your sandwich; dessert will be provided!

February
6th is
Diversity Sunday Staff

Christ
Church will be hosting its annual Diversity Day celebration on
Sunday, February 6th in the auditorium, immediately following
the 10:30 a.m. service. This is an afternoon filled with ethnic
food and music, poems, readings and a deeper understanding of how
our diversity brings us closer together.

This year’s theme is “Celebrating Diversity: Love
One Another!” and once again this event is being coordinated
by Willie Black, Jr. and his wife, Shirley. Please contact Willie
if you would like to be a part of the talent portion of the program
(singing, dancing, playing an instrument, reciting poetry, etc)
or Shirley, if you would like to prepare a dish for the ethnic
food-tasting table.

Please be sure to mark this wonderful day of food, fun and fellowship
on your calendar and plan to attend.